


Queensguard

by garbage_dono



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alien Biology, Alien Culture, Breeding, Cunnilingus, Diplomacy, Empress Allura (Voltron), Enthusiastic Consent, Established Relationship, Explicit Consent, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Female Ejaculation, Knotting, M/M, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Oral Sex, Other, Polyamory, Royal Couple Lotura, Sexual Content, Sexual Tension, Size Difference, Size Kink, Threesome - F/M/M, pregnancy mention
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-24
Updated: 2019-01-05
Packaged: 2019-07-01 17:02:16
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 17,899
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15778317
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/garbage_dono/pseuds/garbage_dono
Summary: Allura has ascended to the throne of the Galra empire, taking on the title of Blood Empress by marriage. But there is one hurdle that she and her new husband have yet to overcome, and in order to do so they decide to call on one of the most trusted members of their guard for help.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Only god can judge me.
> 
> Many thanks to aicosu for allowing me to borrow the term "zol" for this fic. :)

She had heard the rumors.

Galra were not subtle, and they certainly didn’t shy away from speaking their minds. They did not censor themselves. Did not flinch at what others might consider more _unsavory_ topics. They were blunt.

Allura could respect that.

But the _rumors…_ stars, they made her want to run and hide on the nearest uninhabited planet.

It wasn’t that she felt _pressured._ It wasn’t that she feared for her safety or dignity. But at the same time she knew what was…expected of her. Of them.

Takkel Masi.

 _Children._ Specifically the _Blood Emperor’s_ children.

And that involved…certain acts. Acts that she wasn’t entirely unfamiliar with, but this marriage by its very nature was unexplored territory. For the most part it was nice. It was comfortable. Respectful. Everything it needed to be.

Except…well, they hadn’t taken that leap yet.

They shared chambers, shared a bed, spent nights together. She had touched him, and he her, and every time Lotor had been patient, had reduced Allura to a gasping, flushing mess with fingers and tongue. But the rest of him…

That was a different story.

There had been a few nights, a few _attempts._ They had all stalled before they had made it very far. Allura was not a cowardly woman, but every time she got Lotor unsheathed, the reality of their situation became all too clear.

Lotor was _large._

 _Massive,_ even. She didn’t know how he measured up by Galra standards, but by Altean ones, he was impossibly thick. Especially at the base.

The zol, it was called.

Damn that thing.

“We don’t need to,” Lotor told her, his voice soft and understanding. Stars knew he had said the same plenty of times before. “Not tonight. Not…not ever, if you don’t-“

“You know we have to,” she insisted. She looked back at him, blanket clutched around her shoulders, and she caught a glimpse of his eyes – gleaming with concern – under a fringe of silver bangs. “If I’m going to…if I’m going to become the Kra Zel Tir, we _have_ to.”

“The title of Kra Zel Tir is an archaic one at best,” he insisted. “Allura…you’re worth so much more to the empire than simply being the bearer of the Takkel Masi.”

“Me becoming the Kra Zel Tir is the linchpin of this treaty. If I don’t…if I can’t…”

“Allura.” His voice was firm, but unendingly kind. Patient. As he’d always been. “There are…there are other ways.”

She shuddered at the thought. Oh, he was right of course. There were other ways, more _artificial_ ways, and they were perfectly respectable. But she didn’t _want_ to do it that way. If she was going to become the Kra Zel Tir – the _fertile empress_ – and bring forth the next generation of the Galtean royal bloodline, she wanted to do so in love, in passion, in the _natural_ way.

Call her old-fashioned, but she couldn’t help her preferences.

“I want it _this_ way,” she said, her hand wandering to Lotor’s thigh. “I do…please don’t mistake my hesitation for unwillingness-“

“I don’t.”

“I just…I’m not sure I can… _handle_ it.”

She felt ridiculous. Of course she could _handle_ it – her body could accommodate him with enough time and effort. But the thought of it, the thought of what they were doing…it made her seize up. Clamp down.

Deny entry, as it were.

Beside her, Lotor swallowed. “Perhaps there is a way,” he offered. “I only hope…well, I hope you won’t take it the wrong way.” He brushed the hair back off of her neck, leaning in to press a gentle, almost chaste kiss there. “There is a custom…an old custom, granted, but one that’s still respected, albeit rarely discussed. The Kara Zor.”

“Kara Zor…” she repeated. The term was strange and foreign, and she rolled it around on her tongue and lips to get a better feel for it. “I…don’t know how that translates.”

“It doesn’t, really,” Lotor admitted with an odd little smile. “But the concept is one that stretched far back through the Galra’s royal history. In the old days, it wasn’t uncommon that the empress would…take on other _partners._ For various reasons.”

Allura’s eyes widened.

“Trusted individuals,” Lotor quickly added. “Often members of the royal guard. Thoroughly vetted Galra who accepted the title with pride.”

“You’re suggesting I take on some kind of…some kind of _concubine?_ ”

“Of course not. Merely…well, perhaps someone could help you…” He took a breath. “Adjust. And perhaps if that person is not me, you won’t be so consumed with thoughts of what we’ve set out to do…”

Allura’s mouth had gone dry, and she got up and dragged the blanket to the bathroom to draw a glass of water. Another partner, a member of the royal guard – someone to _teach_ her how to handle a zol, as if it was a test that she needed to pass before she could graduate to conceiving a true Takkel Masi. It was ridiculous. It was _vulgar._

It was…genius.

The thought surprised her.

Every time they tried, every time Lotor went to ease inside of her, she took one look at his face and realized just what the future held. Just what they were doing. The words _Kra Zel Tir_ and _Takkel Masi_ echoed through her head, and the moment she began the spiral it was unstoppable. And next came pain and embarrassment and frustration.

It made taking Lotor’s _zol_ impossible. But if she could experience it, learn what it felt like, learn how to handle it without having to keep afloat in all of the thoughts of the future…

Perhaps it could work.

“I need to think about it,” she said.

“Of course.” Lotor held out a hand. “Perhaps we should sleep on it.”

She nodded, set the glass of water on the nightstand and slid into bed with him.

* * *

Movements passed.

Allura…considered the idea.

She turned it over again and again in her head, weighing the pros and cons. Trying to find the best way forward.

The matter would be handled with utmost discretion, but Lotor assured her that it was not a shameful practice. It was anything but. She would not lose the respect of her Galra subjects – in fact, he considered, they may even view it as a sign of respect and strength, her adopting another aspect of their culture.

The title of Kara Zor was not passed to just anyone. There were highly respectable members of the royal guard that would never dream of attaining it. Few had Lotor’s trust – and hers – in a way that would make them a suitable Kara Zor. There was just one name that they both agreed upon, speaking in hushed hypotheticals. And just thinking about it – not to mention saying it _aloud,_ like it might actually _happen_ – made Allura’s face flush so hot that she could barely stand it.

But the more she thought it over, the more she _imagined_ it, the more…normal it became. And if it could get them over this hurdle they faced, then perhaps…

“Lotor,” she called, her lip caught between her teeth when she found him in his study. “I…I think I’ve made a decision.”

He looked up from his screen, his expression perfectly neutral. He waited. She wrung her hands.

“I think…perhaps it would be in our best interest for me to take on a…a Kara Zor.”

With a swipe of his hand the screen vanished, and he approached her and laced their fingers together. “Is it in _your_ best interest, my queen?” he softly asked her.

“I…” Truly, she hadn’t given it much thought. She was more worried about the treaty, about their union, about the future of the empire. Of the bloodline. Her own _best interests_ were the universe’s best interests, weren’t they?

Lotor’s hand cupped her cheek. “It’s your decision, Allura. Not mine, nor the empire’s, nor anyone else’s. The Kara Zor is meant to serve the empress and the empress alone.”

She swallowed. “I…I want to,” she said, surprising herself. “I do. I want to make this work. I want to learn…to experience everything offered to me.”

Slowly, she turned to press a kiss to his palm, feeling his claws grazing her cheek as she closed her eyes. “I want you,” she said. “And everything that comes with you.”

Lotor let out a shuddering breath. “I’ll make the arrangements.”

* * *

Three quintants later, Lotor summoned Kolivan to their chambers.

It must have been a strange request to hear, Allura was sure, and straight from the emperor himself, no less. But Kolivan didn’t hesitate. He arrived precisely at the time that was requested of him, and waited at the door when Lotor opened it to greet him.

“Blood Emperor,” he said with a solemn bow and an even more solemn expression. Or perhaps it was nervous. Or intrigued. Allura found it hard to tell.

“Please,” was all Lotor said in reply, stepping aside and gesturing for Kolivan to enter.

Allura found herself straightening her shoulders, as if in an effort to make herself feel taller. It was an impossible feat, given Kolivan’s height. He towered over both her and Lotor, all broad shoulders and long limbs that stretched almost the entire length of Allura’s body.

He bowed to her, more deeply. Trying to reduce the space between them, she wondered? “Empress.”

“Kolivan.” She hoped her voice wasn’t shaking as much as she felt like it was. “Thank you for coming. I know this was a…strange request.”

“Not at all. I go where my emperor and empress command.”

“Your loyalty is unendingly appreciated,” Lotor told him. “But for the record, we didn’t call you here to command anything of you. It’s more of a…request. One that you’re free to accept or deny without any consequence, I assure you.”

Lotor looked at her, and a moment later Kolivan followed his gaze.

_Oh._

Oh, of course.

The Kara Zor was meant for the empress. Nobody else. And so she had to be the one to ask.

Stars help her.

She swallowed, threading her fingers together in front of her hips and drawing a breath. “Kolivan…I’d like to ask you…to invite you to become my…” Ancients, her cheeks were burning. Her palms were sweating. Her stomach was in knots. “…my Kara Zor.”

The silence that followed was stifling. For the first time since she’d known him, honest and pure _shock_ bloomed across Kolivan’s face. “E…empress…”

“I-it’s only a request,” she said. Would she feel more or less foolish if he accepted? She honestly didn’t know. “If you don’t feel it would be right…”

She trailed off, and only when she’d been silent for a good several ticks did Kolivan finally speak again. This time, he dropped to one knee. “Empress…you honor me.”

She blinked. “I…I do?”

“Incredibly.” He looked up at her, and even without the irises that she was so used to seeing, she could tell there was fire in those eyes. “If you would have me…yes, I accept.”

Her stomach flipped.

“Oh…”

She looked up at Lotor.

“Um…wonderful. Thank you.”

Just how was she meant to respond to that? Truly, she hadn’t thought they would get this far. She hadn’t bothered to consider a reply.

When Kolivan stood again – how did he suddenly seem even taller than before? – his expression was unreadable. He looked as though he’d just heard the new guard rotation. Certainly not like he’d just accepted the job of _bedding her._

“If I may,” he said, “I will need some time. Just a few quintants, to ensure everything is in order, should my absence be required.”

“O-of course,” Allura breathed.

“You have my word, my empress, that I will exercise utmost discretion in this matter.”

She felt a weight lift off of her, albeit a small fraction of the one that still laid heavy on her shoulders. “Thank you.”

When Kolivan had taken his leave – Allura _still_ had no idea how excited he truly was about the whole thing – Lotor slipped his arm around her waist. “Are you relieved?”

“I suppose I am that he accepted,” she sighed. “But we still haven’t…done much else.”

“And you’re sure this is what you want? If you change your mind, there’s no shame in rescinding the offer.”

“I’m sure,” she insisted, and she turned in his arms to look at him. “Are you?”

He blinked. “Me?”

“It won’t…bother you? Me being with someone else…”

“I am the one who suggested it to begin with,” he reminded her.

“I know that. But it was all talk. All hypothetical. Are you sure you’ll feel the same if…if something truly happens? If I’m sharing our bed with a member of our personal guard?”

He squeezed her hands. “Allura. I would not have suggested this if I would have been held back by some sense of…possessiveness or jealousy. If this is the path you believe is best for you, then I support it. Completely and without judgement or resentment.” Gently, he drew Allura’s hand to his lips. “Let your intuition lead you where it will, my queen, and I will gladly follow you anywhere.”

Her face flushed for what had to be the hundredth time that day, but it was not in any way unpleasant.


	2. Chapter 2

About a movement later, as the castle’s lights began to dim at the beginning of the night cycle, Lotor pressed a lingering kiss to Allura’s lips and left her alone in their chambers. It was quiet, save for the soft thrumming of the engines far beneath her feet. That, and the pounding of her heart in her ears.

The sheets on their bed were freshly changed and neatly folded. She adjusted them even though they didn’t need adjusting and brushed her hair even though it didn’t need brushing. For good measure, she brushed her teeth as well, and carefully clipped her nails.

And then she waited, gingerly sipping on a cup of tea that had already started to go cold.

Kolivan was due any tick now. He wouldn’t be late, but still Allura wondered – what if he didn’t come? What if he had changed his mind about accepting the title of Kara Zor? Would she be disappointed? Relieved? Both?

She stared down into her teacup, nails clinking against the side of it. There was no use getting so worked up over something that was, after all, only a business arrangement. Kolivan was doing her – and Lotor, as strange as it was – a favor. It was a service to them, the empire, the Coalition, and the whole universe, really.

And he, stoic and intimidating as he tended to be, had never been cruel. He had never been selfish, or brash, or needlessly rough. There was a gentleness to him, despite the massive stature and sharpened claws and chiseled jaw.

She roughly swallowed a sip of lukewarm tea and stared straight ahead.

Finally came the knock. Allura left the tea on the bedside table – then thought better of it and moved it to her bureau instead – and strode to the door without hesitation. It was a service to the empire. Nothing more. Nothing to be anxious about. Nothing to fear.

Kolivan bowed his head, the same as he always had, when she opened the door. “Empress.”

Despite the tea, her mouth was dry. “Kolivan…come in.”

Those words had never carried more _lascivious_ meaning. She toyed with her hair just to give herself a distraction as she watched Kolivan enter. He moved silently, light on his feet despite the weight of all the muscle stacked on his tall frame.

She closed the door, and they were alone.

“I’m glad you came,” she said. It wasn’t a lie, but it wasn’t the whole truth either. _Glad_ was only a tiny scratch on the surface of all the things she was feeling.

It was strange, standing before him in her nightgown. But given the…intent of their meeting, she hadn’t seen much point in getting dressed. He, on the other hand, hadn’t seemed to share her sentiment – he wore his usual Marmoran garb, his hair tied in the same tight braid she had grown used to seeing. But then again, she could only imagine how it would have looked if the head of the Emperor’s royal guard were to show up at the Empress’ chambers in nothing but his undergarments.

The image almost made her laugh. For one blissful moment, it distracted her from the knot twisting in her stomach.

“I did accept the invitation to take on the title of Kara Zor,” Kolivan pointed out. “I didn’t intend to insult you by being late.”

“O-of course.” She bit her lip. “Ah…you’ll have to forgive me. These Galra traditions are…still a bit new to me.”

For a moment – barely half a tick – worry flashed over Kolivan’s face. “But you…do understand the duties of the Kara Zor?”

“I do.” More than she wished she did. She offered him a small smile and cast a glance down at her own clothes, light and sheer as they were. “I haven’t forgotten why you’re here. But…before we…” She swallowed, thickly. “…move any further, may I be candid with you?”

Kolivan’s gaze softened, ever so slightly. “Is something wrong?”

“No. No, nothing’s wrong. It’s just…well, I feel you should know why I – we – decided to ask this of you in the first place. It’s only fair, don’t you think?”

“Your reasons are your own, Empress. If you don’t wish to share them-“

“I do.” He closed his mouth. “Kolivan…it’s certainly no secret that I’m not Galra.”

His brow pinched. “No. But I don’t hold that against you.”

“I know you don’t. I know there are large portions of the empire that don’t either. But there are those that do, and I would be naïve to think they didn’t have their reasons.” She fought against the urge to look away, and held his gaze instead. “I have every intention of becoming the Kra Zel Tir and producing an heir to the throne. I’m more than capable of that much. But…there are certain…quirks of Galra biology that are making it difficult.”

Kolivan nodded, wordlessly.

She fought back a blush. “The…the zol, being one of them.”

He nodded again, a bit more slowly.

“Do you understand what I’m saying?” she asked him quietly, praying he did.

He drew in a long, slow breath, clasping his hands behind his back and looking pensive. “You’re hoping that I may…help you learn how to handle the emperor’s zol.”

Praise the ancients. “Yes.”

“Does this mean…that you and Emperor Lotor have not yet…”

The blush was too powerful for her to wrestle back this time. “Well…no. Not…not completely.”

After a long silence – _too_ long a silence, as far as Allura was concerned – Kolivan spoke again: “Empress…are you sure that you wish for me to be the first?” When she didn’t have an answer, he added, “Rather than Emperor Lotor.”

Oh.

_Oh._

So she hadn’t been the only one to consider that.

She clasped her hands in front of her and surprised herself by smiling. “Actually, no. I don’t think it matters.” Kolivan looked intrigued. “Lotor is my husband. And one day, I will bear his children. Whether or not he is my first…I don’t particularly care. Because I know that he will be my last.”

The answer seemed to soften his features, and for the briefest of moment’s, she thought she saw him smile. He closed his eyes, bowing his head deeply until his braid hung down over his shoulder, swinging like a gentle pendulum. “I understand, Empress. If that’s the case…” He looked up at her again, low light glinting in his aureolin eyes. “Do you wish for me to be of service tonight?”

Something in the way he spoke made her stomach twist. And not from nerves.

She could say no, she realized. Lotor had made it clear from the start, but it only sank in, truly, as she stood there looking at Kolivan against the backdrop of her impeccably made bed. She could turn him away, forget about anything having to do with the Kara Zor with little consequence. It was her choice. No-one else’s.

She took a careful breath and met his eye before saying, “Yes.”

Kolivan’s expression never even twitched as he straightened up again. “Of course, Empress.” He reached for the clasp of his armor, and a thought occurred to Allura.

Before she could stop it, it came bursting out: “Only if you want to.”

He paused, his hand stilling at his chest. “Empress?”

“I just want to be sure…I know we said that you were free to choose. But I’m not familiar with some of the intricacies of Galra culture or tradition. And I hope that you didn’t feel undue pressure to accept.” He stared at her. “If…if you’d rather not-“

Then he smiled. And a moment later, he chuckled. It was a low and rumbling sound, and one that took Allura so much by surprise that she couldn’t help but drop her jaw. “Empress,” he finally said, “I assure you – I would not have come here if I wasn’t completely willing.”

“Oh,” was all she could manage to say. And then, “Yes…yes, of course.”

It felt as though a weight had been lifted from her. One she hadn’t realized she’d been carrying until now.

“If I may,” Kolivan said, before reaching for his armor again.

Allura didn’t stop him.

She wondered if she was supposed to turn away. Then again, privacy was a bit of a moot point, all things considered. So she didn’t bother. She averted her eyes for a moment or two, more out of sheer habit then anything else, but they kept wandering back as Kolivan undid his belt and peeled off the outer layer of his armor. The suit underneath was tighter, fitting to every dip and ridge in his torso and letting her glimpse the layer of pure muscle that bulged just under the surface.

Next came the shoulder pads and gloves, and Allura was oddly transfixed by the way tugged on each finger to pull the fabric free of his knuckles before removing them completely. His hands were…not as different from Lotor’s as she had expected. They were certainly larger, rougher, with deep purple claws that she couldn’t help but stare at.

They were…blunter than she’d thought they would be. Rounded almost like her own nails rather than sharpened to a deadly point.

Kolivan caught her staring and paused. “I filed them,” he said simply. “In the interest of…your comfort.”

Stars, she couldn’t even articulate how much she _appreciated_ that. “That’s…quite courteous of you.”

His greaves and boots were next. He slid them off and carefully set them down next to the neatly folded pile of the rest of his garb, on the chair by the window. When he straightened up again, he was in nothing but a form-fitting body suit.

It left quite little to the imagination. Allura gulped.

He glanced at her, just for a moment, like an unspoken question as he reached for the zipper between his shoulder blades. When she didn’t protest, he slid the zipper down and pulled the suit off his shoulders.

He stood naked in front of her like it barely phased him, arms resting by his sides, braid hanging over his shoulder. He looked like he was letting her simply appraise him. And appraise she did.

Purple fur, impossibly soft-looking, covered his entire body, longest at the shoulders and waist and shorter over the muscles of his chest and abdomen. These were where the scars were most visible – some larger and newer than others, others almost invisible for how much they had faded with time. She let her eyes track down the length of every long, lean arm and leg, tracing the lines of muscle and sinew that flexed beneath his skin.

Lotor was not small by any means, at least not by her standards. Kolivan made him look almost _puny._

She couldn’t help but glance between his legs where his genital sheath was still flat against his abdomen. She tried not to let her gaze linger there, wondering about what kind of _monster_ was lurking just inside, but Kolivan seemed to notice anyway.

“May I speak frankly, Empress?” he asked her.

It was a strange request when he was stark naked in front of her. But she nodded. “Y-yes.”

“If you have not been able to handle Emperor Lotor’s zol thus far, I…don’t believe you’ll find mine any easier.”

She cleared her throat, as if that would make it any easier to speak. “It…it’s not so much the size. Well, it is. But not _only_ that.” She took a steadying breath. “With Lotor, I can’t help but think about…all of the other things we’re trying to accomplish, and as careful and patient as he is, it makes relaxing…”

“Difficult?” Kolivan offered after a beat.

“Difficult.”

“Well…I suppose that is one thing you won’t have to worry about for the moment.” When she glanced up at his face again, he added, “Conceiving, I mean.”

The meaning of his words sank in slowly, and she blinked. Ancients help her, she hadn’t even _thought_ of the logistics of _that._ As common as the practice of taking on a Kara Zor was, just how common were accidental pregnancies?

He must have noticed her reeling, because he continued a moment later: “All members of the royal guard are sterile, Empress.”

Her eyes widened. “Sterile?”

“Functional,” he clarified. “But unable to sire any pups.” He hardly seemed bothered by it. “I can assure you, no illegitimate Takkel Masi could possibly be conceived tonight or any other night.”

That seemed like the edge of a smile tugging at his lips. She wondered if she’d imagined it. “Yes,” she said, clumsily. “Well…good. That’s good.”

He was watching her, expectantly it seemed. And she realized that she was still dressed, such as it was. “Would you…like a moment of privacy?”

A lot of good that would do. No, there was no point in being shy now. “No, it’s alright.” She reached for the strap of her nightgown.

It was simple – no buckles or clasps or complicated pieces of armor to worry about. Just a single lift upward, and a shiver ran up her spin as cool air hit her exposed skin. She could feel Kolivan’s eyes on her, could sense them tracking up and down her body despite the fact that she couldn’t quite tell exactly where he was looking without any pupils to give him away.

She took a moment to fold her gown and place it on the edge of the bed. Well, she supposed, that was that.

“You are beautiful, Empress Allura,” Kolivan said, his voice soft. Gentle. Sincere. Not unlike Lotor’s when he said the same (without the title, of course).

She managed a smile. “You’re quite…striking yourself.” It felt like the right thing to say. Polite. She resisted the urge to fold her arms in front of her, to cover herself, and instead stepped toward him, reaching out to touch. “May I…”

“I’d thought it should be I asking you that,” he told her with a hint of a joking edge to his voice. She wasn’t used to hearing that from him, but it wasn’t unwelcome.

He let her place her hand on his chest – she marveled at the fact that she had to reach _up_ to do so – and watched her as her palm trailed up and over one shoulder. Stars, he was gigantic, and his muscles were so hard underneath her fingers that they felt like rock. But his fur was shockingly soft, tickling her palm and knuckles with every pass, and his skin was so warm that she imagined she could curl up and fall asleep against it.

He let out a sigh, so quiet she almost didn’t hear him, and she glanced up to meet his gaze again. His eyes had slipped closed, his expression softening bit by bit. When her fingers traced down the line of his braid, his brows rose slightly.

He enjoyed this, she realized. The gentle touch, the feeling of her hand against his skin. She wondered just how often he got to enjoy something like this. Perhaps there was more incentive for him to accept the role of her Kara Zor than she’d realized at first.

“Empress,” he breathed, and she noticed that his eyes had opened again. “Before we proceed, I should ask…is there anything you don’t want me to do?”

She blinked. “Anything…I don’t want?”

“You are still the Emperor’s wife. And while I’m more than willing to serve in whatever way you’d like-“ Her heart skipped. “-I would certainly understand if there are…boundaries you wish for me not to cross.” When she couldn’t summon anything to her mind, he offered, “Kissing, for example.”

“I…just not on the mouth,” she heard herself say. And the moment she did, she felt awful. How impersonal, almost cold that sounded.

But Kolivan merely nodded, one brow arching. “And elsewhere?”

Her breath caught in her throat. “Elsewhere is…perfectly fine.”

For the first time since she’d touched him, he moved his hand. The muscles of his shoulder flexed beneath her palm as he brought his thumb – and one carefully blunted claw – to the side of her neck.

“Here?” he said, no more than a whisper.

She nodded.

He bent down – so far it was almost comical – and pressed his lips to her neck. They were dry, rough, _hot_ against her skin. The fur lining his jaw tickled her jaw, but when she opened her mouth to laugh, all that came out was a quiet moan.

“Do you like this, your majesty?” he asked, on the edge of a smirk that Allura _felt_ more than she saw.

She let out a shuddering breath. “Yes.” Her brown pinched and her voice broke as Kolivan’s lips trailed down over her collarbone.

“And here?”

“ _Ah –_ yes.”

Her legs wobbled, and just as they threatened to give out under her, Kolivan’s massive hands pressed against her hips and guided her to the edge of the bed. She happily dipped backward onto it, his mouth never pulling away from her skin as she did.

Without missing a beat, he licked and sucked his way to her breast, fangs just barely grazing against her nipple and making her gasp. “Here?”

 _Anywhere,_ she wanted to scream. _Anywhere and everywhere!_ But instead, she quivered and ran her hands through his fur, gasping, “ _Yes._ ”

She thought she heard him chuckle, but then he wrapped his lips around her nipple, and she didn’t think much of anything for a good several ticks.

She was ever aware of the sharpness of his fangs and the roughness of his tongue – it made gooseflesh erupt across her skin, but not from fear. No, the feelings making her heart race and her fingers curl against the solid wall of Kolivan’s shoulders were the exact _opposite_ of fear.

His gigantic body curled over hers almost gingerly, gentle hums and purring growls rumbling from deep in his throat as he kissed his way back up her breast and collarbone. His eyes flashed in the low light when he looked up at her again. “If I may be so bold,” he said – when had his voice become so deliciously _rough?_ – “it will be easier, taking my zol, if you’ve already come.”

There was a glint in his eye as he added, “Once, at least.”

She swallowed. Just how was she meant to respond to that? When she finally found her voice again, deep and raspy as it was, she settled on, “Just how do you plan on doing that?” And when she felt boldness well up within her, she added, “Surely you don’t expect me to do the work myself.”

“Not at all,” he replied, with a flash of fang. “I did blunt my claws for a reason.”

As he spoke, he let his fingers – his huge, _thick_ fingers, she noted as her lip caught between her teeth – trail down her sides to grasp her hips. Each of them could have wrapped around one of her thighs with no trouble, could have wrenched her legs apart with hardly any effort, and yet he watched her instead. He watched and waited, his palms still and warm against her hips.

“I’d hate for that effort to be for nothing,” she told him, eyes half-lidded, and he chuckled.

“Much appreciated, Empress. May I-“

“Do what you please.” His eyebrows arched, and Allura tried to rein in her dignity after her eager outburst. “I…I will tell you if I’d prefer you stop.”

“Of course.” His words were muffled against her shoulder as he scooted onto the sheets beside her, pulling her onto her side and pressing her back against the colossal expanse of his chest. He rained kisses and nips down over the nape of her neck. “May I mark you, Empress?”

His question caught her in the midst of a breathless moan. “Wh-what?”

“Forgive me – I know you said I shouldn’t interrupt with questions, but I felt it only polite to ask.” The tips of his fangs brushed against her shoulder and made her shiver. “I wish to mark you…would you let me?”

It was the first time he had admitted a desire of his own. Not “May I,” or “Should I,” but “ _I wish to._ ”

She almost felt guilty when she hesitated. “I…I’m not sure…”

There was no shame or stigma in taking on a Kara Zor – and Lotor had already voices his approval. But she remembered the feeling of her husband sinking his teeth into her skin on their wedding night. She remembered the thrill of him sucking marks into her neck and shoulders and chest and thighs, ensuring that everyone in the Galra empire, everyone in the Coalition would know that she was his. She remembered the pride she had felt seeing them in the mirror whenever she bathed and dressed.

But Kolivan pulled her from her memories with a soft purr and a nudge to the back of her neck. “I understand, Empress,” he said. “I will not – you have my word.”

Relief flooded through her, followed closely by a jolt of pleasure when his hand slid between her legs and brushed her sex. She rolled her hips against it. “More…”

“Of course, Empress.”

The next word from her lips surprised her as much as it did him: “ _Allura._ ”

When he didn’t reply, his hand stilling as he began to deftly part her folds, she turned to look at him over one shoulder. “For tonight, enough titles…just call me Allura.”

Without waiting for an answer, she reached down between her widely parted knees to grasp his hand. She ran her finger over one carefully rounded claw, over the contours of his knuckles and the fine fur covering them, and then dauntlessly pressed it inside of her.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope y'all are ready for some spice.

Allura was frankly embarrassed by how quickly Kolivan made her come.

Or she would have been, if she hadn’t been so thoroughly, _fantastically_ distracted.

Just one of his fingers was enough to give her a delicious stretch, and it was so long that Kolivan had no trouble at all sussing out the most sensitive spots inside of her that made her toes curl against the sheets. She lay on her side, legs shamelessly spread and her back pressed against Kolivan’s broad, solid wall of a chest. He growled as he dropped messy kisses on the nape of her neck, his tongue laving roughly across her skin.

It took less than a dobash for her breath to catch in her throat and her fingers to dig into the fur and flesh of Kolivan’s arm as she spasmed and muffled a cry into her pillow. When she came down again, quivering, she couldn’t help but be hyper-aware of the fact that she was dripping down over his knuckles.

“Do you need a moment?” he asked her, his voice just as level as ever. As if he’d just watched her lose her breath running up the stairs instead of working her up to a bone-deep orgasm more quickly than she’d ever managed it herself.

“Yes,” she panted. “Just…just a tick.” She let out a soft moan as he gingerly pulled his finger out. The wet, slippery noise that it made as he did was downright _obscene._

She turned to lie on her back, catching her breath as aftershocks of her climax rippled between her legs. As she stared at the ceiling she couldn’t help but feel she should _say something._ But what was she supposed to say? Her etiquette classes as a girl hadn’t covered what to do in this particular scenario. Though none of them had covered the intricacies of having a Kara Zor either.

As ridiculous as it was, she wished they had. Having _some_ kind of reference certainly would have made things easier.

Finally, she settled on, “You’re…very good at that.”

Kolivan let out a huff that might have been a laugh. “I have to admit I’m relieved you found it so…stimulating. I’m not very familiar with Altean anatomy.”

“Familiar enough,” she told him, and to prove her point, she let out a contented sigh.

A moment or two later, Kolivan spoke up again: “Emp-“ He paused. “Allura.”

“Mm?” She could fall asleep right here, settling into a nice little cloud of her afterglow.

“Would you…still like to continue?” She opened her eyes to look at him and found his yellow ones gleaming in the dark. “If you’d prefer, we can always call it a night.”

“Oh – no. I mean yes. Ah…” She pushed herself up on her elbows. “Yes, I’d very much like to…continue.” A tendril of anxiety cinched in her chest as her gaze trailed down the long length of his body and settled on his sheath. It was beginning to bulge outward from his abdomen, its color darkening to a deep magenta flush. “Perhaps…a bit more with your fingers,” she offered. “It certainly couldn’t hurt.”

He nodded.

It was astonishing, how easily Kolivan could lift her; he flipped her over like she weighed nothing at all and let her settle on top of him, straddling his hips. A shiver rushed up her spine when she pressed down against his bulging sheath and drew a half-muted grunt from his throat.

“If that’s what you’d prefer,” he said, and he reached down between their bodies to press the pad of his finger against her entrance. She let her eyes flutter closed and sighed as easily slid inside her once more.

The stretch was not quite as intense this time – in fact, it was almost nonexistent. “Another,” she said.

“Are you-“

“Yes.” She rocked against his hand, testing the waters and making him groan. She swore she felt him throb inside his sheath under her. “Yes, another.”

He didn’t voice any more doubts – instead of second-guessing her, her pressed another finger in alongside the first. The burn and stretch this time was more intense, making her brow furrow and driving the air from her lungs in a shuddering gasp. But little by little her body adjusted, accommodated him just as she knew it could.

She opened her eyes just in time to see Kolivan’s brows arch in astonishment, and she laughed. “I suppose you were telling the truth about not being familiar with Altean anatomy.” Another few rolls of her hips, and any hint of pain faded into magnificent blooms of pleasure. “Have you forgotten that we can shift our forms?”

“Is that what you’re doing?” Kolivan breathed, his free hand trailing up the length of her bare stomach until his thumb nudged against her breast. “Shapeshifting to…accommodate any size…I’ve never heard of anything like that.”

“You sound impressed,” she laughed. “It’s…not a conscious change, really. And it has its limits. But with enough time and – ah! – patience…” Words became too difficult to form as Kolivan’s fingers crooked just so, sending pleasure shooting like lighting across her skin. She pressed down against his hand, reaching out to grasp the headboard as she did.

Something flashed in Kolivan’s eyes, and a moment later he _thrust_ his fingers up into her, making stars explode behind her eyes.  

“I owe you an apology,” he said. She barely heard him, let alone had the presence of mind to answer beyond a shaky moan. “I underestimated you.” His fangs grazed her nipple and made her shiver.

And then his fingers were gone, leaving her empty and dazed, and she whined. But Kolivan’s mouth was on her neck again, stifling his groan when she rocked against his swollen sheath. But when he spoke again, his voice was perfectly clear: “I should mention,” he said, glancing up at her face, “Galra seek forgiveness through actions, not words.”

“The only thing for which you need to seek forgiveness is _stopping,_ ” she insisted, and he hummed thoughtfully against her clavicle.

“All the same…”

He pulled away from her, sliding out from under her and leaving her to watch from the bed as he sank to his knees on the floor. A moment later he was pulling her, reverently, to the edge of the mattress, letting her thighs rest against his shoulders. She felt his breath against her entrance.

Oh.

“May I beg your forgiveness, Allura?”

_Oh._

Her lip caught between her teeth. “Y-yes.”

He let out a hum and then disappeared between her legs.

For half a tick all she could think of – all she could focus on – was the fact that even on his knees, he had to bow his back dramatically just to get his face – _mouth_ – to the proper level. When he did, the fur on his shoulders stuck up in thick, messy tufts. Was that only from the angle, she wondered, or did it come hand in hand with his own arousal?

So many questions, and she didn’t have time to turn any of them over more than once before his tongue dragged over her flesh and chased all of them straight from her mind.

“ _Ahhhhh…_ ”

His fingers curled against her thighs, almost soothingly. She was at the same time hyper-aware of his fingers against her and so lost in the sensation of his tongue pressing inside that she barely noticed anything else. It was _rough –_ his tongue felt like it was covered in tiny ridges, rasping against her over-sensitive flesh with such careful precision that it made her toes curl.

He growled, and she felt it more than she heard it. Deep vibrations rumbled up her legs, and her fingers dug into the sheets. “Koli- _ah!_ ” Her brow furrowed as she tried to find the right words. She could feel him looking up at her, waiting for instruction. Waiting for orders.

“Deeper,” she finally managed. “You can…I need…go _deeper…_ ”

She rocked her hips forward, half in the hopes that he would get her message and half because she was already desperate for more friction. Like her body had completely forgotten that she had just come only a few dobashes before.

In either case, Kolivan complied, and she threw her head back and moaned. Loud enough that she drowned out Kolivan’s answering growl. Loud enough that she wondered just how far the sound carried. She wondered if others could hear, if she was going to wake the entire ship – even if she did, she didn’t care, because Kolivan’s tongue was _curling_ inside of her in the most delicious ways, _pressing_ against her with such calculated precision that she felt like she was going to _burst-_

“Oh-“ She panted, her quivering, her hands trembling where she gripped the sheets. “Stars… _gods…_ don’t – don’t _stop-_ “

Kolivan didn’t.

Her voice broke as she came.

Her hips rocked desperately against Kolivan’s jaw, heat rushing through her in deep, throbbing pulses. Wetness bloomed across the sheets beneath her, kissing the backs of her thighs as Kolivan pressed them down against the bed and crawled up over the length of her body. He loomed over her, face coming into focus again as the aftershocks of her climax receded, his eyes blazing and the fur around his lips dark and damp.

With her _come,_ she realized. She pulled in a deep, rattling breath.

Kolivan lifted her, effortlessly, pressing her against the pillows and staring down at her, his braid tickling her shoulder and making a shiver run down the length of her entire body. She stared up at him, blearily, her limbs like jelly against the sheets.

She felt it before she saw it, hot and hard and slick against her thigh, and she looked down and nearly forgot how to breathe. As large as she’d assumed he was, nothing could have measured up to the beast extending from the sheath between his legs – deep violet, impressively ridged from the tip all the way to the swollen, glistening knot at the base. He had to be nearly the length of her forearm, and just as thick, to say nothing of the zol itself.

She swallowed.

Kolivan’s voice was rough, more of a growl as he said, “If you’d rather-“

“Stars no,” Allura insisted, looking back up at his face and gripping his shoulders. She had to try, at the very least. “Don’t you dare stop now.”

The breath he let out was hot against the hallow of her neck, his hands sliding down the length of her ribs and thighs as he pushed her legs apart and sank between them. The first press of the tip of him against her sex was enough to knock the wind out of her, the slickness and warmth of it rekindling the fire of arousal in her belly.

He pressed in slowly – agonizingly slow – and the first inch or two barely felt like a challenge at all. Without the of the Coalition and the Empire and the treaty between them swirling through her head, taking him in was easy. There was no pressure, no looming obligation, no expectations, and without all of these things the stretch and fullness were exquisite.

It was everything she had ever wanted making love to be with Lotor. For so long, she had craved the feeling of him sliding inside of her, pressing against every corner of her inner walls, his claws tracing soothing circles over her skin as he pushed himself further and further into her body, inch by inch, ridge by tantalizing ridge. If she closed her eyes, she could imagine it…it was so easy…

“Mm…Lotor…”

The moment it slipped out, her eyes flew open. Her gaze met Kolivan’s and sent a wave of shame washing over. He’d paused, stilling inside of her – partially at least – and she pressed her palm over her mouth. “Oh-“ Her cheeks burned. “Oh, I’m-“

“It’s alright,” he insisted, his voice soft and genuine as he ran a soothing hand up the length of her stomach. “Think of him, if it helps.”

Of course – Kolivan and Lotor weren’t competing for her affection. She was married and promised to Lotor already, and they had both agreed to choose Kolivan for her Kara Zor. There was no shame, she reminded herself. This was not a dirty secret she had to hide to preserve her own dignity.

So she closed her eyes and let out a careful breath, and thought of her husband.

She thought of Lotor, pressing kisses along her neck and whispering sweet things in her ear as he pressed inside of her. She thought of him, stretching her with his slick cock, every ridge of it catching against her entrance. It was Lotor’s body that her own shifted to accommodate, Lotor’s girth that sent sparks shooting up her spine, Lotor’s zol that pressed against her.

Kolivan let out a quiet, shuddering groan, and when Allura looked at him again she found him almost astonished. When she glanced down between them she couldn’t help but feel the same – his length was nestled inside of her, right up to the zol at the base.

He let out what sounded like a curse, bracing himself against the headboard and pulling his hips back, letting his cock drag out of her and making her gasp.

And then he snapped his hips forward again, and she _wailed._

He stalled, pressing a hand against the dip of her hip. “Is it too much?” he asked her, urgently. “Should I-“

“ _No._ ” She gripped his hips, nails pressing through the layer of fur and dragging against his skin. “No, keep going – I’m fine.”

Still, Kolivan hesitated for a moment before carefully pulling back once more, and Allura could have cried for how magnificent the slick heat of his cock felt. She was painfully aware of the way his muscles tensed under his fur, every slow thrust carefully controlled, never pressing any further when the top of his zol met her skin.

He was holding himself back.

That would get them nowhere.

The next time he thrust inside of her, she wrapped her legs around his hips, gripping his shoulders and meeting his eye. “More,” she insisted.

Kolivan paused. “You’re certain…”

It was not a question, but Allura answered with a nod anyway. She drew a breath and told him, “Knot me.” And then after a moment: “Your queen commands it.”

After that, there was no more hesitation.

Kolivan pulled back again, only a bit, and then pressed further inside. Further, _further,_ until the stretch bloomed into a burn. “ _Breathe,_ ” he told her, his voice trembling. His head canted up toward the ceiling, his eyes shut tight and his brow furrowed. “Easy…”

She listened, matching her breath to mimic Kolivan’s slow, measured inhales, and every time she emptied her lungs a bit more of him – an agonizingly tiny bit – slipped inside. He was impossibly careful, letting her body morph to his, letting her stretch and shift to accept him.

She could do this, she realized as her next exhale shuddered on its way out. She could handle him – she could-

The rest of him slipped inside all at once, almost effortlessly, and she and Kolivan both had the air punched from them as it did. She couldn’t help but open her eyes to look at him – his brows were arched in disbelief, his jaw slack with ecstasy, fangs gleaming in the low light.

Her hand wandered between her own legs, the pads of her fingers brushing against his sheath, the base of his cock. Stars above, he was really-

“Are you alright?” Kolivan’s voice was strained, rough – he spoke through gritted teeth, his eyes tightly shut like he would lose himself completely if he dared to open them. His muscles quivered, blunted claws catching and tugging on the sheets.

Allura let out a shaky breath. “Fine.” The one word was all she could manage, but it was true – she had done it. She had taken his zol. Now all he had to do was… “Can you move?”

He swallowed, answering with a careful rock of his hips instead of any words – the swollen bulb at the base of his cock caught on her entrance and made her hiss, but it slipped out again a moment later. It left her feeling strangely empty, despite the rest of his length still nestled inside.

Then he thrust forward again, and Allura saw stars.

From then on there were no words. There didn’t need to be. Kolivan’s arm wrapped around her, holding her against his chest, lifting her up off of the sheets as her heels caught the backs of his knees. His muscles flexed under her palms where she pressed them against his back, her fingers curling with each thrust, each drag of his zol inside of her body.

Her moans shook as she chased her breath, the sound of it mixing with Kolivan’s muted groans. They came with every roll of his hips, wild and animal-like, but his movements were still too carefully controlled. Like he wasn’t letting himself thrust as hard as he wanted. Even his growls of pleasure sounded as if he was biting them back.

“Harder,” she told him, her voice barely more than a breathless rasp.

He shuddered mid-breath. “Empress,” he hissed, “I…I can’t.” He forced himself to meet her eye, his still thrusting. They had a mind of their own, it seemed. “Strong as you are, I have no wish to hurt you…”

Her smirk surprised her as much as it seemed to surprise him. “As if you could hurt me.” She let her hands drag down his back, down the soft, velvety layer of fur criss-crossed with old scars, and pressed them against his tailbone. “ _Harder._ ”

Kolivan, to his credit, obeyed.

The bed shook, pounding against the wall, leaving dents that Allura knew would take more time to remedy than the holes and tears in her bedsheets. Kolivan’s grip on the headboard was tight enough to warp the metal under his claws, his moans and growls morphing into rough, desperate roars with every thrust. He was lost, even more than Allura was – she could see it in his face: brow pinched in frenzied ecstasy and fur matted with sweat, his braid hanging listless and frayed against her shoulder.

Would Lotor lose himself like this when he knotted her? Would he give himself over and let go of his own composure when she finally took his zol like this? She could almost picture it when she closed her eyes – the needy, keening groans, his face slack with bliss.

She came. Greedily, powerfully, her nails scraping down Kolivan’s shoulders and Lotor’s name on her lips.

* * *

Allura woke again somewhere in the middle of the ship’s morning cycle. The lights were still dim, filtering through a fringe of her own hair that had fallen over her eyes as she slept. She groaned, soreness seeping into every corner of her body. Even corners she’d never thought _could_ be sore. She pulled the blankets tighter around her bare shoulders and shoved her face into her pillow.

A hand, tender and gentle, brushed the hair from her face, and a moment later a kiss dropped against her temple. She let out a soft whine.

Lotor laughed. “Sleep as long as you like.” His thumb stroked along her jawbone. “I brought you some breakfast, but I can leave it on the bedside table.”

Finally, she braved the light and opened one eye to look at him. It was strange, finding a smile warm and welcoming on his face when she had just had another man in her bed the night before. But there wasn’t a hint of shame or bitterness on Lotor’s face, and she allowed herself a breath and reminded herself that it didn’t belong on hers either.

So she matched his smile with a sleepy one of her own instead. “How long have you been here?”

“Just a varga or so. I didn’t want to wake you.”

She glanced around the room. It was empty save for them, of course. She didn’t know what she’d been expecting – certainly not for Kolivan to saunter out of the bathroom in a towel.

As if sensing the impending question, Lotor spoke up again, “A Kara Zor…generally doesn’t stay the night. Kolivan left once you’d fallen asleep. It’s the respectful thing to do, mind you, but I thought it best not to let you wake up alone.”

She hummed. Maybe she had expected as much. And it was probably for the best either way. She didn’t want to imagine the awkwardness that she would have had to contend with in the daylight hours after everything that had happened that night.

She leaned against Lotor’s hand, sighing in contentment at the warmth spreading across her cheek. “Did he…report to you?”

The question felt ridiculous, but she had no idea what kind of protocols Kolivan would have to hold to after all was said and done. Lotor’s incredulous chuckle was answer enough. “Ancients, no,” he insisted. “He sent a message to me as a courtesy to let me know he’d taken his leave, but besides that…” He let his hand move to rest on her hip, over the blankets. “Allura, it’s your business. You’re free to tell me as much or as little as you please. But I…take it went well?”

The redness that had spread from his fingers against her cheek only deepened as she said, “It went…fantastically.” She bit her lip. “It…still feels a bit odd.”

“Understandable. But you don’t have any regrets?”

Smiling, she shook her head. She canted her chin upward, as much as she cared to while still reticent to pull herself out of her blanket cocoon, and Lotor leaned down to meet her lips with a soft kiss. “Good,” he whispered as he pulled away. “I’m glad.”

For that moment, blissful and quiet as it was, so was she.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a while! But despite being a special kind of awful, season 8 left me with more inspiration that I know what to do with. So I hope this chapter is worth the wait. :)

“Empress Allura,” Dayak huffed. “Are you ill?”

“Huh?”

Dayak looked down her nose at her, eyeing the plate on the table. “You’ve barely touched your food.” Her eyes narrowed. “You need your energy for the trip.”

Oh, she was well-aware. That looming trip to Dasarax was the very reason she wasn’t eating in the first place. But she also knew that Dayak was right, so she leaned forward and shoved a healthy spoonful of boiled tako roots into her mouth. They were chewy and salty. Too salty.

“If it’s not to your tastes, I can speak to the kitchen-“

“N-no!” Allura forced herself to swallow. “No, it’s…it’s fine. Really.” She stared down at her plate, wondering if she could get away with calling it a day after the tiny bit she’d managed to get down. It didn’t help that her head was starting to ache. It had been since that morning. “Dayak, could you remind me when we’re scheduled to leave for Dasarax?”

“Two quintants from now,” Dayak said, raising one carefully manicured brow. “Have you truly forgotten already?”

Allura ignored that question. “Two quintants…I suppose I should begin packing sooner rather than later.”

Dayak made a noise – a muted huff mixed with a disapproving grunt. Coupled with her scowl, it made Allura feel thoroughly _judged._ “Empress,” Dayak said, “Forgive me if I come across as overly blunt, but you haven’t seemed yourself lately.”

As much as she hated to admit it, Allura found it hard to argue. The last three quintants or so she’d been foggy. Forgetful. Irritable. Not qualities that made her daily duties any easier. And not only that, but she and Lotor had been horrendously busy the last two movements preparing for their trip to Dasarax. The treaty waiting to be signed between the valuable mining planet and the Empire had taken phoebs to finalize, and it was weighing heavily on both their minds the closer they got to sealing it for good.

So heavily that they had barely had time to share a meal together every few quintants, let alone finding a spare varga to make love. Most nights they just slid into bed and drifted off after a chaste, tired kiss or two.

It was the nature of the work, sure, but it didn’t make her mood any better.

“Just stressed,” she said, truthfully. “I appreciate your concern, Dayak.”

“Concern is a part of my duties to the crown.” Dayak settled back in her chair, hands folded neatly in front of her on the table. “I was charged long ago with seeing the emperor to adulthood to secure the royal bloodline. Just because he’s grown doesn’t mean my job is done. Now it’s a matter of ensuring that the bloodline continues.”

Allura sighed. “Dayak, I-“

“You _have_ consummated your bond, yes?”

If she’d had any food in her mouth, Allura would have choked on it. “I-I-“

“I’ve never understood some cultures’ reticence to discuss such natural processes,” Dayak sighed, looking worn. “I don’t need any details, but you do understand that it’s been several phoebs since your bonding ceremony.”

“I know.”

“And the empire is _expecting-_ “

“I _know._ ” Her hand smarted where she’d slammed it against the table, rattling the cutlery. The shock spreading across Dayak’s face made the knot twisting in Allura’s stomach all that much worse. “I…I’m sorry…” She pinched the bridge of her nose between her fingers. “I’m sorry, Dayak.”

Dayak’s lips formed a tight line. “As I said…you haven’t been acting yourself lately.” She sighed deeply, bowing her head. “I suppose this means you haven’t yet made any attempts to conceive any Takkel Masi.”

“No,” Allura relented, her voice clipped and tense. “No, not yet. We’ve barely had enough time to sleep as it is preparing for this trip, and besides that…” She stared down at her plate, face flushing pink, and out of the corner of her eye she saw Dayak nod at one of the servers standing by the door. A moment later the plate was lifted out from in front of her, and Allura sighed in relief.

Only when the door had closed, leaving them alone, did Dayak say another word. “It must be done on your own time,” she said, more softly. Almost gentle. Or as close as Dayak could get to gentle, at least. “I’m sure it can’t be easy, reconciling the differences between your…cultures.”

Yes, their _cultures_ were the problem.

“That’s not it,” Allura said quietly. “Sure, there were some…hurdles we had to overcome. But I think we…I think we’ve managed well enough-“

A quick rap on the door drew both of their attention, and Dayak let out an audible groan. “Just who thinks it proper to interrupt the empress’ dinner?”

“I’m sure it’s alright,” Allura promised, and then called, “Enter!”

Kolivan stepped in with a bow, his braid brushing against his chest as he straightened up again and met her eye. Allura swallowed, the flush in her face intensifying. “Empress,” he said, “Forgive the intrusion.”

“I-it’s fine,” she told him. “Is there something wrong? Is it the travel preparations?”

“Nothing wrong, your majesty.” He glanced at Dayak, who was staring at him as if she could banish him from the room with a glare alone. “Just a small change to the travel arrangements. I was hoping to get your approval before I finalized them. If we could…perhaps speak alone-“

“I assure you that you can say whatever you must in front of me,” Dayak huffed, but Allura laid a hand on the older woman’s arm. That drew her eye, and Allura shot her a disarming smile. Her lips pursed, Dayak stood and straightened her dress. “Very well. Empress, I shall take it upon myself to see to your things being packed for the trip. If you’ll excuse me-“

With a quick bow of her head, she brushed past Kolivan and headed out into the hall. The door slid closed behind her.

It was the first time they had been alone since…well, since the night he’d accepted the title of her Kara Zor in _earnest._ Several times over. Since then she’d seen him a handful of times, but always with Lotor in her company and most often in the barracks or briefing room where crowds were common and private conversations were rare.

And it wasn’t as if it was unbearably awkward to be around him since then, but she had to admit it was difficult not to think of the time he’d spent knotted inside of her after they’d both finished. The heat of his body, the flush on his face, the glint of his fangs in the dim light.

“There was an…incident training some of the new recruits today,” Kolivan said, snapping her out of her thoughts. “Nothing severe, but Thace sustained an injury to his leg that will require him to be off of it for at least a movement.”

“O-oh,” she breathed. “Oh dear…”

“He was due to accompany you to Dasarax. But unfortunately in his state, he won’t be able to fulfill that duty. I thought it best to suggest I go in his place.” Allura’s face _blazed_ at that, and Kolivan must have seen it, because the next words out of his mouth seemed more…tactful. “I’m certain the Emperor will have no objections, but given the nature of our…arrangement…I thought you might appreciate my coming to you first.”

“Th-that’s very…” Allura reached for her water glass and brought it to her lips. “…thoughtful.”

“If you have any objections, I can certainly make other arrangements.”

She swallowed down a mouthful of cool water, though it did little to relief the dryness in her mouth. “No. No, that’s fine. I have no trouble with you accompanying us.”

“If you’re certain.”

“I am.” She stood, stepping forward and facing him. “Kolivan, I…I feel I must apologize.”

His eyes widened a bit, brows arching. “Apologize?”

“If it’s seemed I’ve been…avoiding you the past few movements. I assure you it’s nothing personal.”

That was a lie. Of _course_ it was personal. It was about as personal as it could get.

His expression settled from confusion into understanding, and he rolled his shoulders and lowered his head a bit to meet her eye. “I understand it may be difficult, Empress,” he finally said. “Our cultures may be very different. But I assure you, if it’s shame you feel, or embarrassment, neither are necessary.”

“I’m well aware,” she sighed. Of course it was easy to say as much. Easy to acknowledge it as a difference in culture that could be reconciled through study and respect. But there was little she could do to stop her stomach from flipping when she saw him. The memories of that night were far too imprinted in her mind. “I appreciate your help, Kolivan. And your patience. And I promise you…whatever reservations I still have are my own to contend with. I have no plans to let them interfere with either of our duties.”

He bowed, more deeply now. “Of course, your majesty.”

Allura managed a smile. “Good – then if you’ll excuse me I should return to my chambers to go over the itinerary for the trip.” As she brushed past him, the softness of his fur tickled her arm, and she stifled a gasp. When had her skin become so overly sensitive? “Th-thank you,” she forced out, “For speaking with me.”

She made a hasty retreat back to her chambers, ignoring the ache in her head and her sour stomach. Surely this had to be stress from the trip. She had no doubt she’d begin to feel better once they arrived, even if a busy four quintants awaited them on Dasarax. She was looking forward to slipping into bed and getting a good night’s sleep when her door suddenly slid open before she reached it.

Dayak stared down her nose at her. “There you are,” she huffed. “Please, Empress, this way.”

“Is something wrong?” Allura asked as she followed her into her chambers, but Dayak didn’t make her wait for an answer. She seemed taller than before, more imposing as she turned to face her, her arms crossed over her chest.

“It’s unusual,” Dayak told her, “for the head of one’s personal guard to request a private meeting so informally.”

Allura’s stomach opened up into a pit, her face heating so intensely that it made the rest of her body feel cold. “I…I don’t know what you mean.”

“Forgive me, your majesty, for speaking so boldly. But by _fury,_ surely you don’t think me blind. Your reticence to mate with the emperor, that _flush_ in your cheeks with Kolivan announced himself-“

No…no, surely she couldn’t think-

“The fate of this empire rests on your back, and if you for one moment think that you can put it in jeopardy with a _scandal-_ “

“That’s _quite_ enough of that,” Allura snapped, her nails pressing so hard against her palms that she swore they would leave marks, and Dayak stared down at her in silence. “I don’t know what you think is going on, but if you’re insinuating what I think you are-“

Dayak’s eyes narrowed. “Am I wrong?”

 _Yes,_ she wanted to scream. It wasn’t that simple. Lotor had told her in no uncertain terms that there was no shame in pursuing this path. There was no reason for her to feel like she was doing anything wrong. “Kolivan is not…we are not sneaking around leaving _scandals_ in our wake. And I am certainly not hiding a thing from Lotor.”

Dayak didn’t look convinced, and Allura let out a sigh, her shoulders slumping.

“Kolivan is my…I asked him to be my…my Kara Zor.”

The silence that followed weighed on her shoulders. She grimaced as she looked up at Dayak again, wondering what she would see there. Disgust? Shock? Horror?

But no, all Allura saw spreading across Dayak’s face was _relief._

“A Kara Zor,” she breathed. “Empress…forgive me – I had no idea.”

Allura let herself slouch on the edge of her bed, hands clasped in her lap. “I suppose I can’t exactly blame you for being suspicious of something more…untoward.”

“It was careless of me. This is quite different, Empress. Quite different indeed. To think you’ve embraced such a deeply entrenched part of Galra history so fully…” A smile spread across her lips, her eyes gleaming with delight. “A tradition that seemed to have been lost to the ages. And a fine choice you’ve made, too – Kolivan is an exemplary specimen.”

“He…he is quite…accommodating,” Allura hazarded.

“You need say no more,” Dayak said. “You’ve proven yourself to have impeccable judgment in the past, Empress. You and the Emperor both. If this is the choice you’ve made, I would be a fool to question it.” She bowed her head quickly and made her way to the door. “I laid out some outfits for your consideration. When you arrive on Dasarax you will want to make a strong first impression.”

“O-of course,” Allura managed.

The moment Dayak left her, she fell back onto the bed with a heavy sigh.

* * *

The next two quintants went by in a blur, but Allura felt no better over the course of their passing. She woke to the feeling of Lotor’s hand on her arm and his claws pulling back her hair from her eyes. “It’s early, I know,” he said on the edge of a sympathetic laugh. “But we’re due to depart for Dasarax in three vargas, and I’m sure Dayak will want to insist that you eat something before then.”

The thought of food made Allura’s stomach turn, and the morning cycle lights burned her eyes and made her head throb. She groaned and buried her face in the palm of her hand. “Must we…”

“Are you alright, love?” Lotor asked her, his voice tinged with concern. The back of his hand pressed against her forehead, and he let out a sigh. “You feel feverish.”

No, she couldn’t be. This was no time for her to fall ill. Not when the success of this treaty hinged on their presence on Dasarax. All their work…

“I’m fine.” To prove her point, she hauled herself up from the bed.

“Allura-“

“I said I’m _fine._ ” Lotor’s mouth closed mid-sentence, and guilt coiled in the pit of her stomach. She hung her head, turning and letting it rest against his chest. “I’m sorry. Stars, I’m sorry. I haven’t been myself in _quintants._ ” She looked up at him through a mess of frizzy silver bangs. “It’s this trip. This treaty. It’s been weighing on my mind since we started the preparations.”

“Yours and mine both,” he sighed, and he cupped her jaw in his palm, letting his thumb track across the apple of her cheek. “It’s nearly over now, at least. If we can manage to make an appearance and look at least somewhat official, the treaty will be signed by movement’s end.”

She managed a smile. Yes, she thought she could handle that much at least.

Allura changed into an outfit that Dayak had already approved and made her way to breakfast despite her churning stomach. If she could just choke something down to keep her strength up until they made it to the planet, once they were settled there she had a feeling her stomach would be a bit calmer.

But the moment she set foot in the dining room and the smell of steaming meat and sweet fruits hit her, it seemed as though everything switched gears. Her mouth watered, her stomach growling, hunger gnawing at her as though she hadn’t eaten in _quintants._

She beat Lotor to the table and cleaned her plate in record time.

“My my,” Lotor chuckled. “I suppose you’re already feeling better.”

“Thank the stars,” she sighed, wiping her mouth with a napkin before reaching for a second helping. She could preserve at least a bit of her dignity. “When I was younger my mother told me I carry anxiety in my stomach, which could mean anything from nausea and cramping to…”

She eyed the bowl of plump red berries by Lotor’s plate until he slid it over to her, and she scooped out at least half of them. “There will certainly be no shortage of food in Dasarax,” he said. “The night after the treaty signing, I’m told they’ve planned a rather lavish feast as thanks for the empire’s willingness to grant them a healthy measure of autonomy.” He raised a brow at her. “I seem to remember you being the one to push for that measure during the drafting of the treaty, so I plan to propose a toast in your honor.”

“I’d be content with some spice cakes,” Allura told him with a smile as she popped a berry into her mouth.

“I think we can manage that.”

* * *

Dasarax was covered in harsh, hot, unforgiving deserts, and from the moment they set foot on its surface, Allura was covered with a sheen of sweat. It was unrelenting, even as they toured the grand capitol building where the signing ceremony was due to take place at sunset the following day. The air inside was stifling, choking, making her legs wobble with every step. She could see Lotor’s brow pinching with worry every time he glanced her way, and he squeezed her arm in an unspoken question: _Are you aright?_

She smiled up at him and their hosts as they passed a balcony overlooking the gardens. “Excuse me,” she breathed. “I think I could…do with a bit of air if that’s alright.” Lotor opened his mouth to speak, but she squeezed his hand. “Please, go on ahead. I’ll meet you at dinner.”

He sighed. “If you’re sure.”

“I am.”

With another sweet smile at their hosts and a neat turn on her heel, she pushed her way through the doors and let out a breath as they closed behind her. She let herself lean against the railing, reaching up to wipe the sweat from her brow with a shaking hand.

This feeling in her had shifted. Her stomach was no longer in knots, but her temperature was raging out of control, her heart pounding in her chest. Every breeze that kissed her skin felt like it lit up every nerve ending not covered by her dress, and the scent of the flowers below was almost overpoweringly sweet. And then there was the unmistakable cramping in her lower stomach, accompanied by the constant prickling sensation in the marks on her cheeks.

The longer it went on, the more certain she was of what was happening. It made worry cinch in her chest. No, _no…_ this couldn’t be happening now of all times.

“Empress.”

She hadn’t heard the door opening, but that voice made her spin around and press her back against the railing. The cold metal against her spine made her shiver. “Kolivan…”

“Forgive me,” he said, lingering by the door. “The emperor asked that I make sure you were alright.”

“Of course,” she breathed, and when the scent of him hit her nose she almost moaned. It was a rich, musky scent that made her heart race. “I-I’m fine, I assure you…”

No, she wasn’t. She was on the cusp of a sproggle at the worst possible time. She dug her teeth into her lip.

“I…I need to get back to my chambers,” she finally forced out.

“Are you ill, empress?”

“No. No, I’m not…but I…I can’t continue with this tour tonight. Nor can I come to dinner.”

Stars, if this sproggle was as intense as it seemed to be shaping up to be, she may not even make it to the treaty signing. But she didn’t want to think about that. She couldn’t.

“Please,” she said. “Just…please take me back to my chambers. Now.”

Kolivan’s brow was knit so tightly she thought it must have hurt, but he didn’t waste another moment. Thank the ancients. “Of course,” was all he said as he took her arm and helped her through the doors on her unsteady legs. “I’ll send word to the emperor that you’re unwell.”

_Lotor…_

The thought of him made her heart race. Suddenly that familiar all-encompassing need overtook her, tightening in her belly and making her _throb_ between her legs. “Yes,” she gasped, her voice low and husky. “And when you do, tell him…tell him to hurry back.”

As fast as he could make it, she wanted to add. But she left that much unsaid.

Still, she prayed he wouldn’t make her wait.


	5. Chapter 5

The walk back to her chambers was agony. Allura forced herself forward on unsteady legs, wobbling horrendously with every step and trying with every bit of her strength not to think about the steadily worsening throb in her lower belly. The heat of Kolivan’s hand on her arm was a warm and constant reminder of just how _sensitive_ her skin had become, and it didn’t help that every time she inhaled she got a whiff of his rich, musky scent.

She could so easily recall the feeling of him pinning her down, pushing into her, knotting her. _Mating_ her.

She stumbled into the wall, very nearly knocking over an ornate vine-like potted plant by the window as heat surged through her and turned her legs to jelly.

“Empress-“ One of Kolivan’s hands found her hip. She barely held in a whine.

“Please tell me we’re almost there,” she groaned.

“Just down the hall,” he said with a curt nod. “Can you walk?”

“Y-yes.” She could give it her very best try at least.

Kolivan’s arm was tight against her arm as he helped her straighten up again and maneuver around that damn plant before she sent it crashing to the tiled floor. As she forced herself forward she couldn’t help but notice just how _soaked_ her undergarments already were. Probably too far gone to bother trying to save. Stars, she prayed it didn’t show through her dress.

Absently she wondered if Kolivan could _smell_ it on her. If he could, he didn’t let it show.

Finally – _finally_ – they made it, and the moment Kolivan got the door open, Allura stumbled over to the bed and collapsed ungracefully onto it. Pride be damned. She sighed in relief as the silken sheets enveloped her, her shoes clattering onto the floor when she kicked them off.

Damn sproggle, making every muscle ache and her body blaze so hot she could barely stand it. Even a cool bath wouldn’t do much to sate the heat – her fever always wound up heating the water too quickly to be of any real use beyond a few dobashes of relief. She’d almost forgotten how _unbearable_ it could all be.

And yet this would be the first one she experienced as a married woman. The thought made her stomach flip.

When she glanced over at him, she found Kolivan with his back turned and his head bowed, one hand pressed lightly against the communicator tucked against his ear. He nodded, almost imperceptibly, and let out a quiet sigh. Finally, he turned toward her again.

“Empress,” Kolivan said, kneeling by the bed. “I know this may not be favorable timing, but you should know…the Altean royal flagship has just arrived in the city.” His expression shifted into one that looked almost sympathetic. “The high advisor is asking for you.”

Her stomach lurched. “Coran…”

“Should I…tell him you’re unwell.”

It was a moot point, she thought. The moment he saw her he would know exactly what was happening. And that was the _last_ thing she wanted to contend with now.

Stars, she’d been looking forward to seeing him for _movements._ And now…

“Tell him I’ll see him…as soon as I can,” she forced out, disappointment and frustration welling up in her chest and mixing with the stubborn twisting in her belly. Damn this sproggle. Damn her traitorous body for turning on her at the _worst possible time-_

There was a knock at the door, and Kolivan straightened up and went to peer out of the viewport in the space of just two ticks. He glanced back at her. “It seems he’s already come to check on your wellbeing,” he said.

Allura shoved her face into her pillow. “Tell him now’s not a good time-“

“-Yes, I already found her chambers, thank you!” Coran’s voice rang through the door. “No thanks to you lot trying to shoo me away at the gate. I showed you my identification – I arrived in an _Altean flagship_ for the ancients’ sake, with full security clearance!” His knuckles rapped against the door again. “Allura? Are you in there? I just got word you were under the weather when I arrived so I nabbed some renflower tea from the flagship storeroom and rushed here quick as a jackzoogle!”

She groaned, and Kolivan looked at her with something that looked a lot like sympathy. “Should I…”

“Let him in,” she finally relented, her words so muffled that she was sure Kolivan couldn’t understand a bit of them. But he unlocked the door anyway, and the moment he did Coran’s boots slammed against the floorboards.

She could feel a draft whipping off him, as fast as he moved. But then he froze the second he got within reaching distance of her bed, and the silence was somehow _so_ much worse.

“Oh,” he said. “Oh dear.”

“Seneschal,” Kolivan greeted, but Coran barely seemed to notice.

“Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear.”

Allura forced herself to look up from her pillow, regret twisting in her chest when she saw him. It had been so _long –_ she’d been looking forward to greeting him properly for movements, and now here they were finally meeting in person again and she was in _this_ state. She sighed. “Hello Coran…”

He smiled, and it was an odd little thing. Melancholy and forced – like a soothing gesture. Whether it was for her or for himself she wasn’t sure. “Well, I certainly wasn’t expecting that this was what they meant. A touch of the wibblies, maybe, but-“

“I’m _much_ too old for the wibblies,” she insisted, managing a tired laugh despite the heat blazing through her skin. She grimaced a tick later, groaning as her fingers curled against the sheets. “Took me completely by surprise…with all the planning and packing I didn’t even check my calendars – I should have seen this coming-“

“Oh pish, this is hardly your fault,” Coran insisted, and it was right as he finished insisting it that he seemed to notice Kolivan at all. “Ah…Kolivan, was it? Head of the royal guard.”

“We spoke at the wedding,” Kolivan told him with a slight nod. “Forgive me – I was just about to contact you myself but-“

“Contact, schmontact. Protocols are meant to be ignored every now and again, and this is the perfect example of one of those times I think. I should be thanking you for getting her safely to her chambers in her ah…well…in her state.”

For a moment Allura saw Kolivan’s eyes dart toward her, a hint of worry etching itself into the crease in his brow. “Is she…ill?”

“No, no. Nothing like that, don’t you worry. All perfectly natural – _beautiful_ even, depending on how you look at it-“

Allura fought the urge to gag. “Damn sproggle,” she forced out, drawing both of their gazes. Kolivan’s worry morphed into confusion.

“Sproggle?”

“Altean mating cycle,” Coran added helpfully, gaze intently focused on the hem of his vest as he straightened out the already impeccably pressed line at his hip. “I trust you ah…can understand my meaning.”

“A heat,” Kolivan said, brows raising. “The…the empress is-“

“ _Yes,_ ” she insisted. “And _she_ would very much like to be left _alone_ now, for what it’s worth.”

Alone with Lotor, her mind screamed. Lotor, Kolivan, a strategically curved broom handle. _Anything_ to sate the ache growing in her belly. It was making her skin prickle and her palms sweat, and she just wanted it _over._ She needed this fever to break, and soon. And if she didn’t see to it in one way or another it was only going to get ten times as bad before it receded.

And as dearly as she loved him, she certainly didn’t want Coran around for _that._

Luckily – stars bless him – this was one area where Coran seemed to know the limits of his own care. He cleared his throat and tugged at the hem of his vest once again. “Yes. Yes of course.” His back was ramrod straight, his eyes focused firmly on the far window. “Suppose I can…always leave the tea on your dresser. Does wonders to settle the stomach.”

A tick later, his gaze settled on Kolivan again. “And _you_ should come with me. Now. This _instant._ ”

Any other time she would have laughed at his tone – scolding and firm as if he were talking to a child rather than a Galra soldier twice his size. “Seneschal, I think I should-“

“Ah- _ah_ – not this time. Far be it from me to question your qualifications. You’ve done a spectacular job seeing to her needs so far-“

Oh, if he only _knew._ Allura prayed he never would.

“-but in this one case, I must insist. Advisor knows best, as it were, and believe me when I tell you that a sproggle is no place for-“

“ _Allura!_ ”

That _voice._ It shot down her spine and pooled in her belly like melted chocolate, wrapping her in a warm fog that blocked out everything else except for his face when she shot up in bed and looked at him. His scent hit her a moment later, wafting over her and filling every inch of her. She breathed it in deep and sighed. “Lotor…”

“By fury.” He lingered in the doorway, staring past Coran and Kolivan, as if they didn’t even _exist._ When he swallowed, it seemed as though his mouth had gone completely dry.

In a moment of sudden clarity, he finally glanced over at Coran. “Is…is she-“

“She is indeed,” Coran breathed, voice tight. “I ah…I’d thought maybe we should…give her some privacy-“

“Go.”

It was one word – just a simple one-syllable word, and yet it echoed in Allura’s head until it was so loud it drowned out everything else. Her eyes were locked on him, fixed on his eyes as she watched his pupils dilate into wide black voids. He held her gaze as he nodded and added, “Thank you…for making sure she’s alright. But I can handle this now.”

Out of the corner of her eye she could barely get a glimpse of Coran’s face contorting and flushing scarlet. “Yes…well…that’s…of course…just…” He let out a long, rough sigh. “Renflower tea’s on the dresser. For stars’ sake, make sure she _drinks_ something. Dehydration and a sproggle can do a number on the circadian rhythm-“

“Of course,” Lotor said with a nod, but it sounded like an afterthought.

Kolivan lingered only a tick more after Coran had made his hasty retreat. Gods, the sound of a door closing and _locking_ had never been so sweet.

Lotor took a steadying breath. “Allura-“

“Come here.” She pushed herself up, fisting the sheets against her palms until her knuckles went white. “Come here before I go absolutely _mad_.”  

He needed no more convincing, closing the distance between the doorway and the bed in three long strides and throwing himself into her arms. She dragged him close, nails scraping against his armor as her hands grasped desperately for purchase. For _skin._ When he kissed her, her entire body _sang_ from the feeling of it – the taste of him and the clumsy poke of his fangs against her lips.

“Off,” she insisted, pawing at his chest plate, his vambraces, his damn collar. “Get this _off._ ”

But instead of complying, he pulled away, grasping her wrists and holding them between their chests. He met her eye, his own glazed over and blazing with need. “A sproggle,” he breathed. “Allura, I had no idea you were-“

She grunted in frustration. Her fingers curled against his, her hips rolling up against him in a desperate bid for _friction._ “I didn’t either. It’s all…oh it’s all such a _mess._ But I can’t help that it’s happening at the worst time – I can’t help any of it. But I need you. I _need_ you-“

“Are you certain that’s you talking and not the sproggle, my love?” His lips curled into an apologetic, pained smile. Dread coiled in her belly when she heard those words. Surely he didn’t think-

“Can’t it be both?” she whispered. Ancients, his lips were still glistening from their kiss. His hands were hot against hers, his body a firm and welcome weight overtop of her. She could smell his musk and the scent of his shampoo. He was so _close_ – tempting her. Driving her _wild_ with his mere presence.

Surely he couldn’t give her such a delectable taste and then pull away at the last tick in the name of nothing but honor. Not after how far they had come.

She freed one hand from his loose grasp, pressing it against his jaw and cradling it in her palm. “Surely it can be,” she told him. “It’s a sproggle, not mind-control. I want you, just as I have for all this time before.”

“I don’t-“ He swallowed. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

She smiled at that. “As if you could hurt me.”

“I don’t want to take _advantage-_ “

“Let’s _both_ take advantage then.” She let her hands move behind his neck, thumbs rubbing against his nape as her nails teased his spine. “Perhaps it’s inconvenient – a completely _humiliating_ mess, but couldn’t it also be a blessing? An opportunity?” She bit down on her lip, rolling her hips against him again and letting out a moan at the same moment he did. “I want you,” she said again. “I want you, I want you, I _want you_ -“

“You have me,” he told her, before leaning down pressing his lips desperately, _gloriously_ hard against hers again.

 _Thank the stars,_ she thought, before getting to work tearing off that blasted armor.

It fell beside the bed in pieces, clattering onto the floor without a second thought until she had him down to his flight suit. It wasn’t nearly enough. Still too many layers between them. Her dress was stifling her. “Get this off,” she begged him, pulling his hands to her collar. “Stretch it, rip it to shreds – I don’t care. Just _get it off._ ”

He answered with only a grunt as he chose the second option, and as he dragged the sweat-soaked fabric away from her flushed skin she arched against him.

The breeze from the window kissing her skin felt divine – wicking away her sweat and cooling her flushed and feverish flesh. It made the _heat_ of Lotor’s hands where they tracked over every inch of her they could reach seem that much more blazing hot. And yet his touch was so soft, so _careful_ that she could have cried.

Gently, she cradled his face in her hands and rested her forehead against his. “You won’t hurt me,” she said, because it _needed_ to be said. Because despite her assurances Lotor still didn’t seem convinced.

Even panting and flushed and beginning to swell in his pants, Lotor let out a sigh, his fingers tracing a path up her bare forearm. “You’re sure-“

“ _Yes._ ”

“You want me to mate you.”

“ _Stars_ yes.”

His eyes fluttered closed for a moment, his breath shuddering on its way out of him as his claws played across her skin. She felt a shift in him, like he was giving himself over. Letting go. Her heart raced.

A tick later his fingers hooked in the elastic of the last of her undergarments and peeled them off, and Allura let out a gasp. His nose traced down over her belly, cheek rubbing her inner thigh, tongue darting out to tease the contours of her folds and – _oh_ – his breath puffed so _hot_ against her she felt like she could burst into flames right there.

She pressed her head back against the pillows, letting her legs splay as far apart as she could force them. Putting herself on display without a single moment’s hesitation. She wondered if he could smell her. Wondered if he could already _taste_ her.

She glanced down and caught his eye. Watched as his pink tongue slid across his lips.

“Oh, my queen,” he murmured, low and breathless and _hungry._ “Not to worry – I’ll take _excellent_ care of you tonight.”

Oh, she was sure.

The first night they had ever spent together Lotor had driven her _wild_ with his mouth. He had kissed and licked and sucked just where she needed, letting her guide him to all of the spots that drove her pleasure higher, memorizing every sound that escaped her throat and all their meanings – _faster, slower, harder, deeper._ And Lotor was nothing if not a quick study.

Tonight he took the lead, licking a long wet stripe along the length of her slit and drawing out a breathless moan from deep in her chest. It sent a shiver down her spine, making it bow off the bed, and his palms splayed overtop of her hip bones. “Easy, love,” he purred, nuzzling against her and breathing in deep. “I’ll get you there, I promise you.”

“Now is _not_ the time for teasing,” she bit off, and he chuckled as his hands slithered down her inner thighs.

“Teasing?” He raised a brow, two long fingers sliding inside of her down to his knuckles and _curling_ just so. “Never.”

Her lip caught between her teeth, her eyes screwing shut. She could _feel_ herself dripping down over his hand, eager and desperate and _pulsing_ around his fingers as his tongue teased apart her folds again. And _gods above_ she was already teetering, her breath quivering as a spring tightened and tightened and _tightened_ in her belly, and-

“Oh!”

Lotor’s surprised gasp made her eyes shoot open again. “Lotor...wha-“

He sat there, his fingers still deep within her, his eyes fixed between her legs and his jaw hanging open in…shock? Awe? Fascination? It would have been endearing if she weren’t so _tantalizingly_ close.

She groaned and rolled her hips against him. “Why did you stop?”

“Oh,” he said again, though it seemed to be because she had broken his momentary trance this time. He grinned up at her, dropping a kiss to her knee. “Forgive me, love. It’s just…well, I…I’ve never actually seen an Altean in a full sproggle before. I’d read about it, but… _feeling_ it myself is quite…incredible.”

She pushed herself up on her elbows to get a better look at him, and it was then that she realized just what he meant. His fingers were still sheathed inside of her as deep as they could go, and it looked like he couldn’t have removed them even if he’d tried.

“Is it…” Allura swallowed, her cheeks blazing. “Are you…alright?”

“Yes,” he said quickly. “Yes, I’m fine I promise you.” He let out a hum, dipping back down again with his eyes gleaming with renewed glee. “Oh dear…were you were very close?”

All she could manage was a desperate nod as he gripped her thigh and began to move again. And stars, there was barely enough time for her to do that much before he had her right where she had been before. Gripping the sheets, shuddering with every breath, moaning without caring who might hear her through the walls-

Coming so hard she saw galaxies exploding behind her eyes.

“Mmm,” Lotor hummed as she came down again from her peak, and his lips caught the apex of her thigh. “Suppose that answers my question well enough.”

“You…” She let out a quivering sigh as the fire in her belly died down to a hot simmer. Still there, still greedy, still aching and throbbing enough to make her pull him close when he crawled up the length of her body. “You are _sublime._ ” His lips caught the edge of the mark on her cheek and she shivered. “You know that?”

“Mhm.”

She let her arms slither around his shoulders, her hips rolling lazily up against him. Against his undergarments. Blasted things. “More,” she said. _Pleaded._ “Stars, more.”

“Soon,” Lotor told her.

“ _Now,_ ” she insisted.

Dasarax’s red sun had begun to set outside, the dying light filtering through their windows and staining the room a deep orange-red. But now even that was starting to dim, and in the fading daylight a soft cerulean glow pulsed under her skin, rippling down her body like a rolling wave or a steady heartbeat. It lit up the marks on her cheeks, on her chest, on her belly and legs – reflecting off of Lotor’s flushed face and glinting in his eyes.

They looked like glittering stars against the flushed violet backdrop of his skin. Accentuating the hunger there, the need roiling in his gaze.

She reached up to touch him, cradling his cheek in her palm. Lotor turned the moment she did and nuzzled against the soft flesh, dropping kisses and nips down against her skin that made her shiver with the feeling of it. “Please, love,” she breathed. “I know you want me. That you have for a long time now.”

He responded only with a grunt – one that sounded almost pained. And from the feeling of him, hard and throbbing and _slick_ just under the fabric grazing her thigh, it wasn’t hard to see why that was.

“I can handle your zol.” She arched up, pressing her lips against the shell of his ear as she spoke. “I can handle all of you. I _want_ all of you.”

Lotor’s lip caught between his pointed teeth.

The dusk light bloomed across his skin, kissing the flush on his ears and the sheen of sweat on his brow. The shine of her slick on his lips. “Oh Allura,” he whispered. “I’d give you every bit of me.”

She could only hope to have something so sweet.

The sound of his undergarments sliding off his body and dropping onto the floor was as loud as rolling thunder and just as beautiful. His sheath was already stretched thin, swollen and pink, glistening with a layer of slick that rolled off of her thumb when she reached down to stroke him. Stars, he was as hard as she’d ever felt him, his knot firm and throbbing under her touch, the ridges along his length catching against the pads of her fingers.

Her body screamed for it, her belly aching so intensely it felt like she hadn’t come at all that night. Like she hadn’t come in _deca-phoebs._

Without another word, she caught his eye and grasped his shoulders, sending him pitching onto his back on the soft sweat-damp sheets and swinging her leg over his hips. She was hot, _blazing,_ fire racing over her skin from every bit of her that touched Lotor’s. She sighed.

“Touch me.”

Her meaning was clear, and he obeyed without hesitation, his hands tracing down the curves of her body, fingers caressing the marks lining her ribs. They pulsed with a steady blue glow, sending sparks shooting up her spine when he touched them. Her head fell back, hair cascading down her shoulders as she let her eyes slide closed.

His hands cupped her breasts and she let out a moan.

His lips pressed against the marks on her clavicle and she forgot how to _breathe._

Leaning forward, back bowing toward the ceiling, she reached between their bodies with a shaking hand and grasped him. Whether the slick coating his thigh where her fingers brushed his skin was hers or his own, she didn’t know – it didn’t matter. All that mattered was the heat of him as he pressed against her folds. The firm, _glorious_ pressure of him pushing inside.  

Lotor let out a gasp – in pleasure? Surprise? Astonishment? – as her inner walls gripped him, pulling him in. Greedy. Desperate. And for just the shortest of moments his knot – that blasted zol that had seemed so insurmountable before – knocked against her entrance with the slightest hint of a burn.

The pain faded as quickly as it had appeared. He slid inside easily. Until she could feel the folds of his sheath against her own skin.

His claws curled against her hips, grasping for purchase as his neck stretched back on the pillows. The sunset spilled across his face, amber kissing violet. Dying his silver hair the color of fire. “Ah…Allura…”

He said her name like a prayer.

She leaned down and answered it with a kiss. Swallowed his moan when she lifted her hips and brought them rocking back down again. It tasted sweet.

One hand fumbled for his, finding his wrists and pressing them over his head as her other anchored her against the sheets. He let her hold him, let her pin his hands there against the pillows just as he let her set the pace – quick and needy and insistent.

The headboard knocked against the wall, the bed creaking beneath them, and Allura’s pulse pounded in her ears. And it all mixed with the sounds of Lotor panting against her jaw, of her own moans getting caught in her throat – louder, higher, burning in her chest as her entire body tightened and quivered. Every ridge of along Lotor’s length dragged inside her with every thrust. His hips rose up off the bed to meet hers, knot pressing inside even _deeper-_

When she came this time, she was sure they could hear it down in the meeting hall.

It left her throat raw and her body shaking, and less than a tick after she’d released his wrists from her iron grip, his hands were on her hips again and he was flipping her onto her back. Still inside her. Eyes wild.

His mouth found her neck as he rutted against her, thrusting with such force that Allura saw stars. It pulled something deep and primal out of her – a sound that rumbled in her chest and echoed off the walls as her fingernails dug into the skin over his shoulder blades.

“ _Yes,_ ” she gasped, as her body screamed it. She wrapped her legs around his hips and heard the sound of the pillows tearing under his claws. “Gods – _void,_ yes-“

His teeth found her shoulder, biting down hard and burying a roar into her skin as he pulsed, throbbed, came inside of her, and she shouted her approval to the rafters.

* * *

For a varga or so, she dozed. Not quite asleep, not quite awake – she curled up against Lotor’s body in a state of semi-consciousness, just aware enough of her body to feel him nestled tightly within her, her own muscles keeping him there as much as his knot. She let out a contented little sigh when he was finally able to slip out of her again, but the sound of it was lost in his own satisfied groan.

He left here there in the a sea of pillows – half of them ruined – and returned less than a dobosh later with a cool cloth and a cup of even cooler renflower tea.

“You should drink, love,” he murmured. His voice was quiet and raspy. In a way that set off a twinge of pride in her. She allowed herself a small smile as he pressed the cloth to her brow and dragged it slowly down over her jaw.

It stung a bit when it touched the mark on her shoulder, and his brow pinched in what looked suspiciously like guilt. “I…didn’t mean to-“

“It’s fine,” she insisted, though her words slurred a bit. She draped her fingers over his arm and offered him as much of a smile as she could muster. “Really, it’s fine.”

He turned and pressed a kiss to her knuckles and the lip of the cup to her mouth. “Drink,” he said, and she did without even protesting the bitterness of the tea.

The fever still raged under her skin, leaving a sheen of sweat even where Lotor dabbed her flesh dry with the cloth just moments before. It felt like an exercise in futility, but she couldn’t find any desire to stop him. Every touch was bliss, and despite how blazing hot she was she still craved the warmth of his body.

She sighed, a blush creeping over her cheeks when he slid under the sheets with her again. “I don’t think this blasted sproggle will be truly done for some time yet.” She hid her face in his chest with a groan. “The treaty signing…I’m going to miss it…after all our work-“

“Let me take care of that,” he insisted, smoothing back her unruly hair.

“It’s _tomorrow._ ” Her fingers curled against his chest. “The preparations start in the morning at first light, and one of us _has_ to be there.” Gods, the thought of him leaving this bed made her entire body tense. “We can’t let this ruin everything we’ve worked for – _I_ can’t-“

“Allura.” His name rumbled through her body as he dropped a kiss to the crown of her head. Not even caring about the sweat. “I’ll see to it. I promise you. I won’t let this plan unravel so easily.” He chuckled. “Don’t you trust me with that, at least?”

She sighed, pouting against his clavicle. “Of course I do.”

“Then trust me when I say I will handle it.” He waited until she looked up, until she caught his eye, and his own were pleasantly glazed over with afterglow and so warm in the light of Dasarax’s twin moons shining through the window now that the sunset had faded completely. “I will handle everything.”

Thank the gods above, she believed him without hesitation.


End file.
